Genyatta Week 2k16
by Zorua Illusion
Summary: So I'm actually about a month late in posting Genyatta week on (oops), but I figured Lunar New Year was fitting. A celebration of the beings Zenyatta and Genji and their ever present circling of each other. (All of this is written with no explicit romance.)
1. Firsts

Technically, it's not the first time either of them have seen the cherry blossoms. It is, however, the first time they've seen them together.

Their travels around the world did lead them to Japan, just never during spring. When Genji had gone to confront Hanzo, Zenyatta had stayed behind to appease Genji's worry. Not because the ninja worried about his brother harming the omnic, because Zenyatta was fully capable of kicking Hanzo's ass, but because it would be enough of a shock to see Genji again, to see who he had become.

So after a brief mission in Hanamura (that involved Genji and Hanzo wrecking the Talon agents who had come to restore the Shimada empire from its physical roots at the estate), Genji had agreed to show his master where he had grown up. Well, the town at least. Genji has faced enough demons in the estate – he was not going to face even more.

They stopped by the Rikimaru, though neither was in the mood to eat. Zenyatta has never required food but has the capability of consuming it and turning it into fuel, but could not taste. Genji can eat as well, so long as it's liquidated. Ramen just isn't the same anymore, but milkshakes are wonderful. The atmosphere was pleasant, however, and they spent an hour or so just people watching. Genji got bored after fifteen minutes and started coming up with elaborate, dramatic backstories for each customer that either had Zenyatta giving him a disapproving glare (somehow) or had him chuckling.

The arcade is next, and Zenyatta is hilariously good at Soulstone, specifically the monk character, which has Genji in stitches. Zenyatta is also hilariously _bad_ at electronic table tennis, losing near immediately. Zenyatta laughs it off, and his off handed comment of "I guess I can't be good with all balls" has Genji in stitches once again, although from the way Zenyatta's mala spun it seemed like it wasn't so off handed at all.

Genji avoids going into town – while it's impossible to identify him from looks alone as Shimada Genji, there are too many demons for him to want to walk around. Instead, he shows Zenyatta the river that runs near town, lined with cherry trees by the city.

Zenyatta is fascinated by them. He somehow catches a falling petal and rubs it between his fingers, testing its softness. He watches them as people walk by, swatting the petals out of their faces or swiping them out of their hair. He watches as they land in the river, each one sending out the slightest of ripples.

Genji admires how they cling to his master, nature against metal, and finds it striking. The image is engraved into his memory, and perhaps one day he'll find a better way to describe it other than _beautiful._

Zenyatta admires how they cling to his student as well, but admires more so how Genji does not brush them off, seemingly preoccupied. It's a testament to the peace he's found in these past years.

They walk down the well-trodden path side by side.

Nothing is said. Nothing needs to be.

Their first time – together – is beautiful.

 **A/N: I main Genji in Overwatch. Then I somehow became shipper trash? I'm not entirely sure of the path myself.**

 **Also, should I be doing Genyatta week? Absolutely not; I have two papers due and three art finals and neither of those two papers have even been started and printing is a nightmare as well as recording.**

 **Am I doing it anyway? Yes. I am motivated by procrastination, spite, and the overwhelming adorableness of these two mechanical companions.**

 **Also, I'm bad at romance writing,** _ **trust me**_ **. I try to stay away from blantantly romantic interactions because of this, so feel free to interpret this as Genyatta friendship, pre-slash, or even straight up slash if you want, whatever floats your boat. I'm chill with any of these interpretations and leave it up to you.**


	2. Confession

Confession

In which Genji is surprising, Zenyatta is horrified, and I hurt everyone I love (but they get a happy ending).

Zenyatta's not entirely sure why Genji feels it necessary to explain what happened in the fight with Hanzo. He's never said anything against the cyborg doing so, but he hasn't encouraged it either; there's a distance there Zenyatta's not willing to cross on his own, but Genji feels as if it's too much, so he folds his legs up and listens.

Or, waits. Genji feels the need to take off his helm and sets the various parts on the table. He grips his cup of tea loosely, already losing himself in memory.

"Even the worst of days start as any other good day might," Genji started, "and that day was looking pretty great. Or so I thought. Good entertainment, good food, nice company – well, the life of a bachelor. Nothing notable happened… until I got back to the estate." Genji looked into his tea as Zenyatta waited for him to continue. "I can't quite tell you how Hanzo and I got to dueling – shock and trauma and the human mind are tricky things and those memories are lost – but I can tell you we did."

Genji paused, finding his words. When he continued, Zenyatta had to turn his audio sensitivity up just to be able to hear Genji.

"Looking back now, I can see that Hanzo did not wish to battle me. You've seen him fight; there's an anger about him. Controlled, tamed, but anger. That was missing this fight, every swipe was half-hearted at best, and my defense worse. I did not want to fight my brother. I had only used my katana to defend. We still ended up tearing up half the courtyard." Genji smiled. It wasn't a completely happy one – it was one born of nostalgia, of humor in horror. "It was during that part where I got this-" he motioned to the scar that extended from the left corner of his mouth to his sideburn, "- I wasn't paying full attention to where his strikes were landing, and Hanzo didn't expect me not to block it. He stopped, staring in horror. I stopped, too. I didn't wish to fight my brother. I couldn't fight my brother. I dropped my sword."

Zenyatta's small movements stilled. Genji smiled, though it didn't come out quite right. "I am unsure as to what I expected. Perhaps I paid too much attention to the stories our mother told. But Hanzo… duty drove him. You don't say no to the elders, no matter if you were head or not. He called his dragons, needing their strength to get through it. That's how I got these." Genji gestured to the teeth marks that extended on the other side of his face. "There are more scars, buried beneath the armor. Scales. I don't know how I lost my right arm, but I suspect I lost my legs in the wreckage they wreak. Then Overwatch found me… and you know the rest." Genji shrugged. There was nothing else to say.

Zenyatta couldn't speak for a moment, processing all that he heard.

"Genji," he began very seriously, "may I hug you?"

Genji laughed but nodded. Zenyatta swept him up, leading the cyborg to make a startled noise as he was suddenly set in the omnic's lap.

"Shimada Genji, you are stronger than you know, or give yourself credit for," Zenyatta murmured as he held Genji closer. "Thank you for sharing this with me, little sparrow."

"I'm still taller than you," Genji grumped playfully, allowing Zenyatta to cuddle him. He had missed this – being touched. He was always tactile, while the rest of the Shimada clan was… not. The feelings stuck with him through his transformation, though now people could only touch him with permission unless they wanted a short sword to their face. (And maybe an orb thrown a little too hard during training; it's hard to tell with Zenyatta.)

"Of course," Zenyatta hummed. His orbs began ringing as peace washed over them, playing a gentle tune. Soon enough, Genji fell into sleep, and Zenyatta brushed his hand through the semi-long strands of black-blue-green synthetic hair, falling into a meditative state though without meditating. He, too, eventually started hibernation.

(Genji's tea was cold when he woke. He drank it anyway.)

 **A/N: Continuing the trend with "Shimada Genji" being said in every Genyatta week fic. My irritation extends from an incident earlier this semester; one of my art professors told a girl she had to switch her name around because that's how we write it in English.**

 **She had written her name in Chinese. Both me and another girl stared at the teacher and asked why she had to switch it around if her name was in Chinese and she was essentially translating it. The teacher let her keep her name the way it was. But every time I see "Genji Shimada", unless it's in the context of roll call where its last name first name, I get super irritated. So that's why I'm a little hostile about it.**

 **This covers like four of my headcannons? I don't like the idea that Hanzo was unfeeling towards Genji, or feeling completely negative. There was a time when they got along, presumably, going by the picture in Genji's room in Nepal. But as Genji said, you don't say no to the elders. Except he does, and he drops his sword, because he cannot fight his brother. His anger stems from the fact that he was willingly defenseless, and felt that Hanzo took advantage of that, and were the dragons really necessary? Also, as much as I love fanart of Genji's super scarred face, that wouldn't make sense in the context of my fight (where did those scars** _ **come from)**_ **, also the fact that in Dragons I see nothing but winkles about his eyes. I might be missing something since the lighting's awful but yeah. Teeth marks, man. And synthetic hair because Genji's hair would be** _ **awful**_ **under that helmet otherwise.**


	3. Proposal

Genji can't help but laugh at the other Overwatch members during the first few training days. Whenever he wasn't at his own match, he went to watch Zenyatta's if the omnic had one, if for nothing more than to see everyone get their ass kicked by the monk at least once.

Genji laughs because he had known since meeting Zenyatta that there was more to him than met the eye – when you travel in shadows, you learn the other shapes that hide in them – but apparently others still had yet to learn to not judge a book by its cover. Honestly, Hana had played enough video games too know that monks practiced martial arts, she had no excuse.

Genji laughs because he, too, had been on the receiving end of those orbs later on in their relationship. They had sparred against each other not only to keep their skills sharp, but to be able to walk in harmony as they do.

Eventually, someone calls him out on it.

"What's got you laughing like a loon?" McCree grumbled at him from where he had been thoroughly thrashed by Zenyatta. McCree may be a dead shot, but orbs that can strike with the force of a shot gun and ring like temple bells make it a little difficult to aim, especially at a constantly moving target.

"You," Genji replies honestly, though he's referring to much of Overwatch as a whole. There are a few exceptions to those who do not underestimate Zenyatta: Lucio, Mercy, Ana, Symmetra, and Winston are really the only ones other than Genji who don't think they're gonna get off easy just because Zenyatta's considered a support class member.

McCree grumbles something about "cyborg ninja pain in the-" before Genji interrupts.

"Do you still enjoy wagers, McCree?"

The cowboy raised an eyebrow. "What kinda wager we talking about here?"

"Simple. The day you can beat my master is the day I shall make dinner for the entire crew."

"You, sir, have got a deal." Genji jumped down from his perch to shake McCree's hand before leaving the field with Zenyatta.

"I was not aware you could cook," Zenyatta said as they walked back to their room. Neither had many possessions, and both felt better sleeping in the same room as each other, so they split one.

"Neither was most of the Blackwatch crew until someone pissed me off one day. We didn't have a mission and the training area was too crowded for my tastes so I went and took a blade to food. I ended up fileting fish and potatoes and battering them up. Lena smelled it and, well, she's not exactly quiet about such things. Ever since, McCree has tried to get me to cook again, though he's only succeeded twice since then."

"You are very confident in his ability to defeat me," Zenyatta commented.

Genji nodded. "McCree is a fast learner and not to be underestimated either. He'll surprise you one of these days, master."

"If you are so confident, why make the wager?"

Genji smiled behind his mask. "Because, master, the lengths McCree goes to win such wagers are hilarious."

Zenyatta shook his head. "You, Shimada Genji, are more trouble than most expect."

"Perfectly matched to you, wouldn't you say?"

"Perfection is an impossible concept. But yes, I believe that we go well together."

(Genji ended up cooking nearly a month later when McCree finally learned that while he floats, Zenyatta's hand-to-hand ability is diminished.)

 **A/N: It's a** _ **proposal**_ **of a wager. Get it?**

… **Yeah I didn't think it was that great either. I just really wanted Genji cooking. Just because he had a bachelor lifestyle doesn't mean he doesn't know how to cook. Also, badass Zenyatta. I love the idea of "you can't spell pacifist without 'fist'" Zenyatta and it shows here. I've taken out many people with a few orbs to the face.**

 **And again, continuing the trend of Shimada Genji because I still despise that tag.**


	4. AU

AU

In which Zenyatta actually loses his chill.

"You may be my brother," Hanzo began after Genji tried joking with him, "but you are not the Genji I knew."

Zenyatta, who was nearby, started laughing. But it wasn't his usual laugh – no, this one was maniac, biting, harsh, and the brothers whipped around, concerned.

Zenyatta was clutching his lower torso, a very human-like action, as he continued to laugh.

"Master?" Genji began, confused and wary.

Zenyatta held up a finger, taking a moment to collect himself. "Not the same Genji you knew? Of – hahahaha – of course not!" Zenyatta interrupted himself with more chuckles. "Of course he's not the same Genji you knew- being _murdered_ has that effect."

Genji could see where this was going and tried to stop it. "Master, please, do not-"

"Genji, my student, allow me my piece just this once. You will not say it, but something has to be said, otherwise he will never learn." With that, Zenyatta turned back to Hanzo. Genji just put his face into his palms. Many of the support members would grow irritated at the other classes whenever they did something really stupid without their, well, support – and apparently that had happened this time. This appeared to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Or in this case, Zenyatta's (formerly seen as) endless chill.

"Of course he's not the same Genji you knew, because you slew that version of him once you brought your blade up against him! Did you even know that Genji? What did you know of him besides a habit of breaking tradition, a love of cheesy arcade games and stolen nights? Did you know of the thoughts that plagued him, the dread of one day using _people_ as disposable resources? Of trading them and murdering them for no other reason than profit? Of selling weapons to whoever had enough money, damned if they were flesh traders or bounty hunters? _Did you know anything other than_ Shimada _Genji?_ " At this point, Zenyatta had floated over and into Hanzo's face. Genji went to pull his master back a bit, but a stern glance and a fierce "Do _not_ " in his direction was enough to get him to back off.

Hanzo, meanwhile, was frozen. Zenyatta was the calmest force he had ever seen, even in battle. To bear witness to this sudden 180 in character was startling, to say the least. Zenyatta continued.

"Do you know of how he was saved? Of how his body was saved in the wreckage after your battle, how it took at least seven doctors and three bio-engineers just to make sure he had a chance of living? Do you know how the original Overwatch used him as means to an end, letting him destroy himself from the inside out? A soul does not come out of a betrayal like that _unscathed_ , Shimada Hanzo."

A glance towards Genji surprised the cyborg, but it was understandable. Genji had told those stories to Hanzo before, but his meeting and acceptance of Zenyatta and his teachings was one he had yet to tell.

Even when angry, Zenyatta would respect Genji's wishes. And Genji loved him for it. The cyborg shrugged, and Zenyatta continued, though his anger seemed to be leaving him.

"Do you know what a ruin of a man your brother was when he stumbled across the Shambali's doorstep? Even our newest could sense his discord. He was lost and injured and alone and lonely and none had helped him until he _literally_ collapsed in our doorway, exhausted.

Do you know how long it took for him to even speak to us? Silent, ever-watchful, threatened. He felt threatened in a temple full of monks who stood for peace, because nothing in his life was constant until then. Do you know how wearing that is on a soul, to not be able to count on things for longer than a day? A week? A year? Do you know, Shimada Hanzo?

Do you know how resilient your brother is? How he was able to pick up the pieces of himself and put them back together, and came to forgive you, came to forgive Overwatch, came to forgive _himself_? He has made great strides towards his own peace.

You and your brother are more alike than you think."

"We are nothing alike," Hanzo growled, the line taking him out of his stupor.

Zenyatta made an odd clinking sound – his version of a snort of disbelief. "Please. Genji was as reluctant to accept help as you are now. Your brother has surpassed you in the respect that he can acknowledge when he needs help. You cling to your values of honor and redemption and would rather honor a corpse than realize that the times have changed.

In the words of an ally, catch up with the times or get run over by them, Shimada Hanzo. Genji has rebuilt his part of the bridge. Are you truly going to burn this one down as well, and deny the second chance so freely given?

You seek honor, redemption. At least, you claim to. These are not easy roads to walk, Hanzo. Death is not the answer to this, though you think it to be, and if I am correct in putting pieces together about your upbringing, for good reason. But Hanzo, you have already cut ties with the Shimada Clan, nonexistent as it now is. Are you still truly loyal to a thing that never can be?"

With that microphone drop, Zenyatta backed away. Hanzo said nothing, did nothing, too much information churning in his brain for him to react as he might've otherwise. Genji took advantage of this and escorted his master out of the building they were in.

"You should not have done that-" Genji began, motioning for Zenyatta to stay quiet when the Omnic began to interrupt, "- no, let me speak my piece now, master. You should not have done that; I know the extent of Hanzo's wrath as you well know. He is my brother, mostly unchanged after all these years." Genji opened the door to one of their garden rooms on base, a place where anyone was welcome if they needed a peaceful place to relax and find themselves. He let Zenyatta in first, following him before grasping him into a surprise embrace. Zenyatta returned it near immediately.

"You should not have done that," Genji began, "but I am very glad you did."

Zenyatta hummed, the orbs resting around his neck like a mala resonating with him as he affectionately bumped his forehead into the lower part of Genji's faceplate. "For you, Genji, anything."

 **A/N: So I might be using Zenyatta as a bit of a vent here. I don't hate Hanzo and I can see why he did what he did, but that doesn't mean I support it. So, here we have an AU where Zenyatta loses his chill because AU is hard.**

 **As for what happened, well. I've been the healer before. You want to know a difficult thing?** _ **Playing the healer on a payload mission and no one is on the payload.**_ **People chase the play of the game, kind of forgetting that they need to complete the objective. I get just a little bitter when that happens. Also, the only healer I play as is Zenyatta (because I am literal garbage with everyone else). So yes. Healer angst happened, and Hanzo being dumb just broke whatever threads Zenyatta was holding onto his self-control with. (And more healer angst because** _ **dammit can't you see that your brother who you left for dead is trying to make up with you?**_ **)**

 **Zenyatta's characteristics was inspired by (but not written following) the Sassy Zenyatta comics; as someone who oft plays the healer in most games, I related to those comics on a spiritual level. The path to healing lays here. Kitsune2022 on tumblr is the creator of them; check it out when you've got a chance and are in need of a Zenyatta who's done with your shit.**


	5. HurtComfort

After the recall, the first few missions are simple, even easy. Not everyone responds all at once, so it's a bit of a skeleton crew for about a month. Genji and Zenyatta come in on the tail end of this, both of them travelling together as they wrap up (in Zenyatta's case) or begin (in Genji's case) their projects. From Hanamura, they go to Gibraltar, where they meet Winston, Tracer, and Reinhart. Winston reports that Mercy has called ahead (though reluctantly) to say that she will come, but she has to finish her projects first and has no idea when they'll be done. Two idols- Lucio and Hana Song- have also joined their ranks but are also finishing at different times. Genji is far more amicable than he was when he had left Overwatch in the first place, but he still spends the majority of his time with Zenyatta.

But slowly, ever so slowly, more and more people join Overwatch's ranks. Some return, some are new, but all are striving for at least one thing: to make the world a better place.

However, as more and more people come, the situation in the world gets worse. And Overwatch, though mostly unofficial (seeing as it's still very much prohibited by the UN), is beginning to make a name for itself once again. More and more places need their talents, and everything's far more dangerous.

Genji knows Zenyatta can fight, and fight well – he and the monk have sparred before, and Genji has long since learned to see that which is generally not – but that doesn't stop him from worrying.

His whole life, people have been in and out, fleeting as the wind. People would stay, perhaps for a while, but they would all leave eventually. Such is the life of a yakuza family.

Even the one he thought might be there forever had… well. That bridge was burned. And while Genji was trying to start building a new one, the old one could never be revived.

But Zenyatta… Zenyatta had seen him at his absolute worst, filled with anger and disgust and prejudice, and had found something in him worth saving, worth spending hours he should've spent recharging ensuring that the one who had become his pupil could ground himself back into the present of cold mountain wind and snow instead of pink cherry blossoms stained red-

Zenyatta had stayed with him, helped him pull out of the tornado of despair and rage he had stood in, and continued to aid him. Genji had helped his master in return, of course – as an Omnic, Zenyatta was in danger of being attacked, and Genji tried (with no small amount of effort) to protect his master. He had helped Zenyatta understand human customs that he may be unfamiliar with, such as make up. He also comforted him when Mondatta was assassinated. They're more than just master and student at this point; they're friends, partners, and allies. But Genji respects the roots of the relationship and so continues to call Zenyatta "master". It appears that the omnic understood, even without Genji explaining it aloud. Well, being with someone for the majority of a handful of years will do that.

But as the missions get more and more dangerous, Genji's worry increases. More missions are ending with someone in the medbay and one even has Jesse Mcree out for a week as his prosthetic hand recovers from an EMP that shorted out the robotics (luckily, none of the more robotic crew members were nearby at the time, else the medbay would be a lot fuller). Genji is terrified that the one being in his life who has stuck with him through thick and thin will be torn away.

And Iris, that's a terrifying thought.

What Genji eventually comes to realize as he meditates on his fear is that the sentiment is probably shared. Zenyatta has long since taken up the mindset of "you cannot spell pacifist without 'fist'", but the two have been in enough spats that Genji knows full well his master worries over him. He's been injured enough times to know that Zenyatta's orbs take a little time as they process and convert energy, and that Zenyatta fears that it will be too much time required and not enough time had.

(He will also admit he's not the most cautious of people. With the exception of his shuriken, all of his weapons are melee weapons, and even then the shuriken can be melee as well. Zenyatta has legitimate concerns about his safety because of this.)

He doesn't ask. He's not entirely sure how to. Well, tactically. He could go up and ask Zenyatta "Are you as terrified as I am about losing you during these missions because honestly every time we step out of transport it almost paralyzes me" and probably receive an honest answer but uh… yeah. Tact. Tact was good and needed because wow that sounds awful even in his head and wait shit he was meditating god _damn_ it he hasn't been this distracted since he first started and

"Genji?"

It was futile to hope that Zenyatta didn't notice Genji's wandering thoughts. Genji had hoped the other would overlook it, but even that was a stretch.

"I am fine, Master. My thoughts got away from me for a moment."

If Zenyatta had more than one facial expression, Genji knew he would be getting the most unimpressed stare. It was still conveyed rather well.

Genji fidgeted, fingers tangling with his ribbon out of nervous habit. Zenyatta waited, as per usual. Zenyatta could wait for rocks to weather if that was how long Genji took to find his words.

It stung his pride a bit, but Genji knew he would have to speak his thoughts eventually, so he might as well do it now. "I'm… scared, Master. That one day… after one of these missions-" Genji sucked in a breath, trying to stave of the frustrated tears he felt building, "-it will be you in the medbay- and- and that there… won't be anything… anything…" Genji gasped as the tears slipped unbidden, unseen, but still known. He could feel the panic coming; now that's he's said it aloud, it'll come true, and he can't help but to see wires and parts strewn about carelessly, damaged beyond any hope of repair, staining the pink cherry blossoms the black-brown of the oily substance that served as Zenyatta's blood of sorts and-

"Genji, may I touch you?" His master's voice- calm, even, but firm- somehow managed to register.

Genji nodded and felt Zenyatta's metal-warm hand on his shoulder. "I am Tekhartha Zenyatta. You are Shimada Genji. We are in the Watchpoint in Gibraltar, in room 2-3-17. It is currently 11:27 a.m. You were meditating. I am here with you, and was meditating beside you. There are no missions scheduled until next week. We are safe and well."

Genji calmed, taking in the information. They had found that giving Genji something to hold onto and a sense of when he was helped ground him and was the most effective way of staving off his attacks.

"Are you with me?" Zenyatta asked gently.

Genji could feel his thoughts racing, waiting to break free once Zenyatta stopped reassuring him. He was coming back but he wasn't all the way there yet, something Zenyatta picked up from the hesitation.

"Listen," Zenyatta coached. "What song is playing?"

Zenyatta's orbs bounced up and down, different symbols appearing as the orbs played different notes.

Latching onto it, Genji listened.

"Master… are you playing All Star?" Genji smiled at the ridiculous (and dated) choice.

"Perhaps." Zenyatta tried to play it coy, but only managed for a few seconds before continuing. "I figured humor would be appropriate in this situation."

Genji nodded, placing his other hand over the one Zenyatta still had on his shoulder. "Thank you, Master."

"Of course, Genji." Zenyatta waited as Genji collected himself after his attack. When he was done, the omnic continued.

"I fear the same thing, Genji. I dread to think that should the worst come to pass, that one of us would be injured beyond repair. But you cannot let this thought consume you, Genji. More danger would come to pass. That is not to say that your worry is invalid or wrong. But trust in me to be able to defend myself, as I trust in you to do the same."

Genji turned more toward the monk, hugging him. While the action was unexpected, it was not unwelcome, and Zenyatta immediately hugged back.

"Thank you, Master." Genji hummed as Zenyatta stroked the back of his helmet soothingly.

Zenyatta head bumped Genji affectionately. "Of course, Genji."

 **A/N: So I actually wrote this prompt first; I love Hurt/Comfort Genyatta. Also tactile!Genji is my favorite. Zenyatta asking to touch Genji is not only super cute, but something I support full-heartedly as someone who struggles with personal spaces issues. I first saw the idea in celestialwhitenoise's stories. Check 'em out if you're into Genyatta; the stories are amazing! ( .com)**

 **I also love goober Zenyatta. Don't ask me how he plays All Star on his orbs; I'll just say that the Iris has a sense of humor.**


	6. Holidays

They don't really celebrate Christmas at the Watchpoint; there are too many traditions and holidays celebrated amongst the diverse cast to celebrate just one. They end up picking a day sometime in December where most members are present and together and just hang out in the largest common room available. There are a hodge podge of decorations strewn artfully about, and on some years, there's a tree that's also covered in a mismatch of traditions and cultures.

Zenyatta loves the thing. "All these cultures coming together… it fills me with hope," he quietly confesses to Genji once. It's too early to be night, too late to be day. They're sitting side by side, closer than Genji will allow most people and closer than most people are willing to sit by Zenyatta. The warm, candle-yellow glow given off by the lights makes the moment have a certain magic of its own. Genji has shut off his running lights so that way the bright green wouldn't conflict. He doesn't reply to Zenyatta's statement, but he does place a hand on the omnic's knee.

It gives him hope, too.

As time goes on, it shows that some of the agents are a little homesick. Foods traditional to their place of origin start appearing on counters and in the fridge. Most of these endeavors are started by Tracer; she thinks that making something old with new people can help stave off the worst of it. It seems to do her a world of good, at least, as she, Lucio, and Hana make candied nuts. Genji finds himself helping in many of these endeavors, his knowledge of cooking surprising to most people. He laughs because it's a running trend that people underestimate his knowledge because of who (and what) he is and was. Zenyatta shakes his head in fondness as Genji teases them, leaving them a little bit bashed.

The most extreme result of this actually begins with Tracer. She's not in the mood to bake anything, and there's no one available to bake with anyway. So she just sort of sits in the common room and starts singing Christmas carols because, well, why not?

Soon enough Mercy finds her and joins her because they could all do with a bit of holiday cheer, and the more the merrier, right? After Angela it's Ana, and then Lucio (who brings the instrumentals and starts projecting the lyrics for those who don't know them), and then McCree, and Zenyatta and Genji and soon enough _everyone_ is there, singing along to whatever comes up. It's messy and out-of-tune and not at all together, but Lena is cheered and everyone is so bright with happiness it's almost blinding.

It dissolves from Christmas carols into top 40s, and from there people have to stop and eat, but they all sit together because… well, it doesn't seem right to leave just yet. Eventually that time comes, however, and everyone leaves in singles or pairs until it's just Genji and Zenyatta in the common room suffused by warm candle-like light.

Nothing is said between them; nothing needs to be said. They just move closer together, slightly, and stare at the tree in all its mismatched, thrown together glory.

They feel hope, and really, isn't that what the holidays are about?


	7. Side By Side

Everyone knows Genji is a capable fighter. The Overwatch veterans remember how he would pass through enemies, silent as a wraith, blending into shadows with all his running lights turned off, moving faster than most could hope to follow. Destruction followed in his wake- focused but widespread, leaking with rage. They remembered how Genji shed his family name of _Shimada_ and how his destruction had always seemed to increase in any missions dealing with them.

He still passes through shadows as if he's incorporeal, flanking an enemy team and surprising them with quick blades and sharper reflexes. But now he's more precise, the rage he felt controlled, quelled, leaving nothing but Genji's deadly grace he had trained since he could walk. He bears the name _Shimada Genji_ once more, but most will still only call him _Genji._

Zenyatta surprises many Overwatch members with his own prowess. He may look frail, but one should never judge a book by its cover, something Zenyatta proves as his orbs ring softly in training, attaching a Discord Orb to his target before striking them. His shots are devastating but reserved in training; enough to teach his opponent to not underestimate him but never enough to send them packing to the medbay.

His strikes in battle ring like church bells with how they pummel their enemies. Zenyatta may stand for peace, but he refuses to be a doormat if pushed too far.

Zenyatta and Genji are not often assigned on missions together. Not by anyone's choice, really, it's just how the cards of life play out. But when they are assigned to a mission…

Oh, it's like a storm at sea.

The two will move together, latching onto the other's energy, falling into each other's orbit. They dance in the deadly game, attacking and guarding, pushing and pulling, opponents falling as they work together and with the team.

Devastating, beautiful, a force of nature too strong to contain.

They don't show off. They don't brag. The rhythm they fall into is natural, learned after fighting side-by-side for years.

Zenyatta kicks a man and ducks as Genji's blade follows.

(Later, Zenyatta will say a prayer for those lost souls. Genji will stand by him, head bowed in respect.

No one disturbs them.)

 **A/N: (chanting) Badass Zenyatta! Badass Zenyatta!**

 **He actually does a decent amount of damage for a healer class. 5/8 would play again. (I literally just got 46 eliminations as our favorite omnic healer in one match** _ **and**_ **play of the game from doing so. I was so proud.) Also, I love the fact that Zenyatta just straight up does a boot to the head for his melee.**


End file.
